Stumbling Faith
by TheTroubleWithNames
Summary: Beth is rescued and reunited with Daryl with help from a mother and son who have spent most of their time on their own. The reunion was the easy part. Now Daryl and Beth have to come to terms with their feelings, and the whole group has to get to-and through-Terminus. Eventual BETHYL.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hi! This is my very first Walking Dead fic. I'm a complete junkie, and the story just came to me out of nowhere. Obviously I have an OC, actually two, but if you decide to read you'll see how fast they wind up with actual characters from the show. Reviews and constructive criticism welcome. So, here goes:

**Stumbling Faith ****Chapter 1**

Cate trudged on along the tracks, switching her weapon from one sweaty hand to the other. She took a sidelong glance to her left, watching her son, Tyler, drink from his canteen as he continued to move in sync with her.

She remembered not understanding why her son wanted to collect swords, but she'd rolled her eyes and gone along with it. The items were quite handy now, good heft, easy to jab into a skull with. That didn't mean she didn't carry a rifle with a scope, as did Tyler, but noise was an enemy to two people who constantly found themselves going it alone in this strange world.

Not that Cate wasn't used to going it alone, or having it just be her and her son. At fifteen, she had gotten pregnant, and her parents had disowned her. Life had been difficult, especially those first few years when jobs had been hard to come by and harder to maintain with a baby at home and few support systems.

But, being the mother she had to be, she pulled herself out of the muck and had received her Master's Degree, beginning her career as a Nurse Anesthetist. Throughout the years, Cate had also remembered to thank the grace of God. Though her parents had rejected her on their interpretations of the faith she'd been raised in, she had always found help and support from the church, especially during her most difficult years. She had remained Catholic and had raised her son in the faith as well.

Before everything had gone to hell, she and then sixteen-year-old Tyler had been recent transplants in their Atlanta suburb. She had been going about her job, happy to see that it was worth the transfer and everything it had promised. Tyler was enrolled in karate and jiu-jitsu, making new friends at school, and, despite her assertions that it wasn't necessary, continued his survivalist lessons, picking up where he'd left off from in Massachusetts.

Of course, now, she held her tongue about his six years of training, as it had saved their lives day after day.

However, they hadn't always been on the road.

They had started out in a place called Woodbury, finding it pleasant at first until the man who called himself The Governor seemed more like a megalomaniac day after day. Once he started talking about training everyone to be in an army, mother and son had slipped off into the night.

The two had heard about a settlement in a prison and talked about joining, even though The Governor had publicly reviled and demonized its' residents. Ultimately, the two did not go. During their discussions, Tyler had outlined more of what The Governor had been saying to the young men he expected to fight for him. In short, he had horrific plans for those people and had them drastically outnumbered and outgunned.

Both had been somewhat surprised a few days before when they passed the ruins of the prison, the crushed buildings and the many walkers inside of what had probably once been secure fences. Cate and her son took a moment later that night to thank God that they had made the decision to stay away, and to pray for the souls lost in what appeared to be a horrific attack.

Just the two of them, they would find cabins, shacks and small houses to stay in for a couple of days at a time. They would scavenge and hunt and set walker traps and alarms around wherever they were staying. It was a life that required constant vigilance and left no time for them to process the fear they should have been feeling for what they had been witnessing.

A couple of days ago, they had spotted a sign and a map, a place called Terminus promising shelter and community for all. Mother and son had not debated, or even spoke about it. Instead, after reading the first sign, they looked at each other and shrugged as if to say why not? They then proceeded to follow the map.

Tyler stopped, and indicated for his mother to do the same. He turned to his left and trained his binoculars past the line of trees. "There's some cabins over that way. We should head there before we lose daylight."

"Sounds like a plan, Stan," Cate replied, hitching her pack and rifle further up on her shoulders and making to follow her son. She knew words could never describe her love and pride for her boy, her boy that had grown into a fine man despite having no father and despite the wreck the world was in.

Tyler was tall at six foot three and strong, his movements graceful and purposeful after his years of martial arts. His dark hair and eyes were Cate's shade and he was a young man of few words, choosing meaning over mass. She was glad that they had somehow made it though this together, just as they had everything else in their lives.

Cate focused on the ground as they went, noticing human tracks here and there. This usually meant that pickings would be slim as far as provisions went, but the buildings still could be secure enough to hole up in as they had enough supplies to last them for a bit. When she looked upward closely, she could still see the smoke from a large fire somewhere to the west. She hoped the walkers were still attracted to it, as they were moving steadily east of it.

As they continued toward the cabin Tyler had apparently selected, she remembered back to the beginning of this mess, remembered a fight she and her son had had.

"I don't get it, Mom," Tyler said in frustration, his eyes locking with hers over the candlelight. "How can you possibly believe in God after all of this? Why did you put Holy Water on the bodies of those, those things that would have eaten us without a second thought? Why did we say Grace over this," he gestured to their meal of canned ravioli. "You act like this is some kind of fancy dinner. Chef Boyardee isn't exactly filet mignon and lobster, Ma!"

She saw the tears of frustration in her son's eyes as she composed a response. She knew the content of what she wanted to say, she just needed to phrase it to her son properly. She put down her fork, dabbed at her mouth, and looked Tyler in the eye.

"God did not do this, Ty. Man did this. Science probably had a hand in this, science that should have not been brought into being. But we have free will, and you and I both know that sometimes free will takes us into a direction that doesn't belong to God."

"But why did He let this happen to us?" The young man lowered his gaze to his own plate, moving his fork absentmindedly. "This is awful, just, I don't have any word but awful. Our friends, our neighbors . . ."

"Their souls are already gone, thankfully," Cate placed her hand over her son's free one. "What's left of them is something gone amok that has nothing to do with you or me or God. The reason why I bless those bodies is because they were never given last rites when they died, and I want to do that. What makes them into this isn't of the God we know and love, but He's already taken their souls."

"How can you still believe, Mom? How can you still believe in a loving and merciful God? He let this happen. To us."

"Don't you see, Tyler? That's why I believe. Because you and I are together, despite the odds. Neither of us have turned into one of those creatures and we get to see what comes next, side by side. If I had lost you, I probably wouldn't have my faith, but I do have you, so the rest is easy. Maybe God decided to hit the reset button, just like He's done before. His ways aren't always pretty, but I'm always gonna believe in him because I have you. Can you possibly understand this?" Now her eyes were brimming with tears.

"I promise to try," Tyler kept his gaze low, he didn't want his mom to see him crying, but she already had as she made her way over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you, Baby, more than you could ever comprehend," she kissed her son's head. "We'll do this together, okay?"

Still trying not to betray his emotions, Tyler simply nodded and put his hands on his mother's arms.

"Mom," Tyler said, breaking Cate out of her memory. "Let's eyeball the grounds first, then we'll sweep the cabin."

Cate nodded, and got into their customary position, back to back, no one left unchecked, and they slowly made their way around the grounds of the cabin.

Finding the area clear except for some old tracks that belonged to deer and living humans, they entered the shack in a similar fashion, Cate leading the way with Tyler at her back, sword at the ready. One room was easy enough to check, so after mutually declaring an all-clear, Tyler immediately went to work securing the windows while Cate assessed the amenities, happy to find a wood burning stove that would provide them an ability to cook, boil drinking water and warm the cabin.

"I'm gonna go get some firewood in a few minutes, Ty, why don't you set the snares and see if you can't get a rabbit or two so that we can conserve our canned stuff." She turned to her son and began to dig through her pack for the various road signs she had stashed in there. They made a great alarm system for walkers when strung together. "I'll alarm the place and then get the fire going."

Tyler simply nodded his assent. Most of the windows were covered, which meant there had been people there before them. No matter now, he thought, this could be a nice place to hole up for a couple of days before walking in the hot sun again.

He walked out before his mother went to set her alarms, sword at his side as always, trapping line in the other hand. He headed out toward the treeline, moving closer to the other cabins, hoping they were empty, or, if they weren't, that the inhabitants would want their peace like he and his mother.

He focused on the task at hand, and began setting up his snare lines, one ear cocked for his mother as always. As Tyler bent down to test the tension on the wire, the breeze sent him what sounded like a voice. His head snapped up, it wasn't his mom. Taking a tentative, quiet step toward the north, where the breeze was coming from, he paused to listen again. There it was again. He took another step. Maybe the lack of other people was making him hallucinate, he'd heard of things like that all the time. One more step, and there it was, faint, but distinguishable this time: "Help, please, somebody help me!"

He wasn't making a mistake and he wasn't hallucinating. Swiftly, quietly, he made his way to where his mother was collecting kindling. He took her arm and led her back to his original place without a word. Tyler put his finger to his lips and indicated for his mother to be quiet and listen. He waited patiently and guided her a few steps more to the north until her eyes went wide and he knew she heard it, too.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's chapter two. I wanted to get the ball rolling and get Cate and Tyler in with the regular characters, so they made a pretty quick job of things. Sorry if you think my flashback is corny.

For a few moments, Cate and Tyler simply looked at each other with matching dark, wide eyes. The time they took was long enough for them to hear the call again.

"That doesn't sound like someone who's being attacked by walkers," Tyler pointed out, making his way back to his snare lines and beginning to take them up. "That's coming from another cabin."

"The rate they're going, they're gonna attract a walker or two," Cate replied, following her son. "You think these cabins belong to someone else, even though the tracks were a few days old, don't you?"

Tyler nodded. "Maybe they went on a supply run, or don't use this cabin that much, but it's not a coincidence."

"The woods seem relatively clear. I'm gonna pack our stuff and we can camp out there for the night," Cate looked westward. "We don't have a lot of time."

"Mom," Tyler took her arm and she turned to him. "We're gonna help that person, right?"

"Of course, honey, but we need to plan this out. Maybe we should check which cabin the shouting is coming from first."

"Do you think she's alone?"

"She?"

"That was a girl's voice."

"Yeah, I think she's alone or else she wouldn't be making such a ruckus. She's counting on someone to get her when whoever has her there is gone."

Mother and son parted ways temporarily in order to pack their things and make the cabin look as if they hadn't been there the few minutes they were. Both were quiet as they ran their own plans of action through their heads. Cate and Tyler hadn't been in a position to help another person in a long time, and now if they were thinking of rescuing someone from a potential kidnapping, their plans had to be certain, and as foolproof as they could make them.

They met up at the north edge of the cabin. "Tonight, we're only checking where this person is and if they are really in danger," Cate told her son. "We stay unseen. After we check the cabins, we find a spot to camp for the night."

"What then?"

"If there is, in fact, a girl in danger, we watch until the morning, first light. If she's still alone, we'll get her and run."

Tyler nodded. "It's as good a plan as any. We'll take her across the tracks and to the woods on the other side. That way, we're still headed in the right direction." He began to move slowly toward the other cabins, pausing now and then to check if he could still hear the distress calls.

Cate spotted something, and jogged up behind him, putting up a hand to his shoulder. "I think we have a winner," She whispered, pointing three cabins away to where she saw a walker hovering near a boarded-up window. "It hears her, too." Closing her eyes for a moment, she thanked God there was only one and asked that it be kept that way.

Before she could make another move, Tyler was swiftly and quietly moving toward the walker, his sword in position. She had just broken into a jog when he had made his fatal jab, kicking away the fallen corpse and crossing himself almost unconsciously. He then turned to her and waved her over to the window, hurrying her as if his actions hadn't taken all of five to six seconds.

She shook her head as she continued to jog over to her son. She had tried to raise Tyler to be one of the good guys, and apparently she had succeeded. It wasn't the first time he'd tried to save the day.

_Five-year-old Tyler had been in bed for hours, and Cate had just gotten home from closing the diner, again. Luckily, in this building, she had a neighbor she could trust to look over her little boy when he came home from school and go through the nighttime routine with him. _

_She saw his artwork on the refrigerator and her heart ached a little, thinking of all the things she was missing with him. She grabbed her stack of bills out of the basket by the door and tossed them onto the table, reaching into her pocket for her tips for the night. _

_She counted out ten dollars in crumpled bills with a sinking heart. The place had been hopping all night and she had barely been able to sit down to have a drink of water and she had ten dollars in her hand?_

_Hands shaking now, she reached over for the cookie jar where she had kept her tips for the week. This money was how she paid her bills and she counted on every single nickel. Dumping the contents on the table, she counted out forty-five dollars. _

_She finally let her eyes fill with tears. The electric __company had sent a shut-off notice__, and she was short fifty bucks. Ty needed new shoes, his toes were starting to bunch up against the ones he had, and __food stamps covered just that, food__. __Her check wasn't until next week._

_Cate allowed herself a few moments of self pity, holding her face in her hands and crying. She wished for a better job, more understanding parents, smaller bills, anything to get her and her son through this._

"_Mama?" A little voice called. Tyler. Cate picked herself up and tried to remove the traces of her crying._

"_What are you doing up, baby?" Cate asked, making her voice as even as she could._

"_I need some water," Tyler replied matter-of-factly, and looked over at the table, seeing the crumpled cash and the stack of bills near his mother's hand. He kept looking for a few moments as the wheels spun in Cate's head. What would he ask? What would she say?_

"_I know what you need, Mama," The boy scurried down the hall and returned with a porcelain bank shaped like a football and a rock. He placed the bank on the table. "Watch out, Mama," he announced before shattering the bank with the rock in his hand._

_Cate was astounded. She had expected to see a few pennies, maybe even a quarter or two. What surprised her were the many dollar bills, even a five here and there. She looked at the little boy with wide eyes. "Ty, where did you get this kind of money?"_

"_Do you know how many big people don't look at the ground? I do, because it's so close to me. Can you pay the bills with this?"_

_Cate nodded numbly. Even if it wasn't enough, she wasn't going to tell him the truth. Instead, she just gathered her boy into a hug._

"_I'll always take care of you, Mama. That's being a genteman, like you say."_

She nudged him for a space at the window and had to squint to see anything. The first thing that she noticed was that there was a gap between the old boards big enough for the both of them to see into the cabin.

"Mom," Tyler muttered, "To your left, on the floor."

What she saw made her heart ache. On the floor was a girl who had to be around Tyler's age. She had dirty clothes and blonde hair tied back, and she was hogtied, left to lie on the dirty floor. If only they had more daylight, she would have them rush in and untie that poor child immediately.

She shook her head to dispel the idea. If they were going to do this at all, they had to stick to the plan. Even then, the plan, like any others, was iffy, but now that she had laid eyes on the girl, there was no turning back.

She took her son's arm. "Let's go set up."

He was transfixed. "She's looking at me, hang on."

Cate looked again, and, sure enough, the girl was looking directly at her son. She turned to watch him as he put his finger to his lips, and, never breaking eye contact, began to mouth words very slowly. He did this a number of times before it looked like the girl nodded. Only then did he move away from the window.

"What did you say, Ty?" Cate asked as the two headed for the woods. "It looked like she understood you."

Tyler shrugged, setting down his pack when they reached their destination. Before answering his mother, he gestured for her pack to string up their signs along the trees. Handing them to him, Cate got busy putting down their sleeping bags and digging up a couple of cans of spaghetti.

"Not much. Couldn't hold a conversation, you know? I just said safe, wait, and daybreak a few times until I think she got it. She did seem to calm down."

Now he got up and began to efficiently hang their signs from the trees nearest them. "We're gonna be eating that cold, aren't we? Can't have a fire." He made a face at his mother.

"You're too smart for your own good, young man," Cate said, sticking out her tongue at him. "You wanna sleep first?"

Tyler nodded, focusing on finishing his work. "I'll wake you right at daybreak."

Cate and Tyler both spent their time awake watching the cabin intently, sometimes using the binoculars. They both told themselves that it was to make sure that no one came back, and while that was the truth, it was also because what they had seen that evening had touched their hearts.

Both of them had seen people being attacked by walkers, both had seen corpses, both had been nearly attacked by walkers, but neither had ever seen one human being hurt by another in this way.

As soon as light came from the east, Tyler had his things packed, had the alarm down, and was ready to go.

"Mom," he put his hand on Cate's shoulder and shook. "Mom, come on. We gotta do this now."

Cate opened her eyes quickly, then closed them again to get her bearings. It took her a moment to remember where she was and what they had to do.

Not saying anything in reply, she simply got up and packed her bag, then shouldered it along with her rifle. She had her sword in her hand and was worried it would shake along with her hand, betraying the fact that she felt nervous. She didn't want her son to see that she was afraid to do this.

Mother and son exchanged a look, then sprinted quickly toward the cabin. After making sure the area around it was clear, Tyler headed for the door.

"How stupid are we?" He asked his mother. "Of course it's locked. How is it locked?" He grabbed the door handle angrily.

"Someone left a key? I don't know, Ty. We're committed to this, so now we have to see it through." She put her hand in her hair. They could shoot the lock, but how much noise would it make, and how many walkers could it possibly attract? The girl in there would need help walking after being bound that way. Run and have her hamper their speed, or stop and kill? She wished they had thought of this particular obstacle.

A steady banging made her open her eyes and snapped her out of her reverie. The door was giving way under Tyler's kicking, he was making a hole big enough to slip into. She looked around in a panic, but there were no walkers to be seen.

In shock, she watched him slip through the hole he had made. No wonder they locked it, she thought numbly, then spotted two walkers coming their way. She raised her sword and ran to them, crushing their skulls in what she considered a personal record time. She crossed herself out of habit, then rushed back to the door of the cabin and was now able to open the door Tyler had unlocked.

Walking in, she watched her son cutting the ropes with his hunting knife and speaking in a calming tone to the girl.

"I'm Tyler," he said, reaching to help her up and waving his mother over to help. "This is my mom, her name is Cate. We're not gonna hurt you."

Cate nodded to the girl, and the two of them got the girl up, one of her arms around each of their shoulders. They jogged back to the woods and headed straight for the tracks. Both were filled with adrenaline at accomplishing their goal.

"What's your name, sweetie?" Cate asked breathlessly as they started to move across the tracks and into the woods on the other side. She closed her eyes for a moment, tired and thankful that their plan was going along.

"Beth," the girl answered quietly, it was clear she was tired.

The girl said nothing else as they moved through the woods, though Cate gave her small reassurances now and then that she was safe and she and Tyler were there to help her.

Finally, they felt they were deep enough in the woods and far enough east that they stopped. They all sat down, and Cate offered the girl her canteen, which she drank from gratefully before handing it back.

"Have you two always been alone?" she asked.

"More or less," Cate replied. "We were at Woodbury for a while, but it got crazy over there. We heard about the prison, but we never went to it."

"That's where I'm from," Beth said quietly, looking at the ground. "We were attacked."

"We saw," Tyler interjected, also looking at the ground. "Was there anyone else?"

Beth nodded, then looked at Cate with earnest, tear-filled eyes. "Thank you for helping me, but I have to go back, he's gonna be looking for me."

"Who is going to be looking for you, honey?" Cate asked softly.

"Daryl. He's the person I got away from the prison with. I was with him when I got taken, and he's probably looking for me right now."

"Okay," Cate said through a sigh. This was becoming quite an ordeal. "Three are better than one. How about we help you find him?"

Beth nodded. "I don't want him to think he's all alone."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Oh, my goodness, this took me so long to write! Thanks for the follows and reviews. I hope you like what I finally came up with!

_Cate was enjoying being able to take a leisurely walk down the street. The sun was on her face and shoulders, and she didn't have to notice anything except the lovely day and the other people walking near her. It was the first time in a long time, and, on her second day in Woodbury, she cherished it._

_She was surprised to see a man step into her path. He had slicked hair and wore round glasses. She recognized him from when she and Tyler had arrived._

"_Hello," she said, trying a smile. "I remember your face from the other day, but your name escapes me."_

_The man adjusted his glasses and looked at the notebook he was holding. "I'm Milton Mamet. You're Catherine Mason, correct?"_

"_Got it in one," she replied, slightly taken aback by his formality. Everyone so far had been pretty open and welcoming._

"_Follow me, please. The Governor wishes to see you."_

_Surprised and not really knowing what else to do, she followed the man silently as he led her down the street, then up the stairs above a storefront. He knocked at the door they came to, then opened it, ushered her in and abruptly left._

_A tall, brown-haired man who appeared to be in his forties approached her with a smile and an outstretched hand. "Catherine," he said warmly. "It's wonderful to meet you. How are you enjoying Woodbury?"_

"_Just Cate, please. You have a very nice settlement here. I was just enjoying a walk when Mr. Mamet came and got me."_

"_Well, just Cate, I figured it was time I got to know you. Please," he gestured to a chair in front of his desk before settling into his own. "I like to make it a point to get to know the people who decide to stay here. I ran into your son, Tyler, earlier today. Said you raised him on your own. He's a credit to you."_

_Cate smiled. Any mention of her son made her proud._

"_Now, we don't like to be idle here, so I've taken the liberty of asking your son to show some of the others his martial arts and self-defense skills. I hope I didn't impose?"_

"_Not at all. Tyler and I are here to contribute. I've raised him to help people at any opportunity."_

"_Well, I think both of you are going to be a great help here."_

No one spoke for a long time. Beth fidgeted, looking at the ground, still allowing her limbs to acclimate to being untied. Tyler dug into his mother's pack, finding a large package of jerky to share for lunch. Cate sat with her head in her hands.

Some part of her had known that rescuing another person was a huge undertaking, but it had been put aside by the adrenaline she could still feel in her veins. Now, not only did she have another person to put into the equation, but this girl was asking to go back, to find someone when she likely had no clue where he was.

Part of Cate admired the girl's simple statement, a big part of her did. She was also sure that there was loyalty involved: They had been in the same group and had been alone together for who knows how long.

On the other hand, what had she gotten herself into? How did you even begin to go back and look for someone if you didn't know where they came from, where they were, or where they were heading? Her practicality told her that the girl's desires were completely ridiculous. Maybe it was better just to continue with the girl to Terminus and convince her that her companion would end up there, too.

"Okay," Cate finally said through a heavy sigh. She looked up and looked at Beth, who returned her gaze. "Honey, if we go looking for this friend of yours . . ."

"Daryl." Beth put in quietly. "His name is Daryl."

"So we go looking for Daryl. You were taken from him and we don't know how to get back to where you two last were."

Beth nodded as Tyler watched the exchange intently.

"You don't know where he was headed or where he ended up. Frankly, I would love to help you find him, but I don't even know where to begin."

"I'm good at this survivalist stuff," Tyler said, trying for a comforting tone. "But I'm no expert tracker. Plus, I don't really know what I'm looking for."

"We only have to go back to the cabins," Beth asserted, now looking between Cate and Tyler with tears brimming in her eyes again. "I know that he's looking for me, and he probably found the guys who took me. If he found them, he'll be back at the cabins, and if I'm not there, I don't know where he'll go."

Tyler nodded. "So if we check out the cabins, and he's with the group who comes back, we lure him away and it's a wrap."

Cate felt anxiety rise in her chest. "Just what do you two think you're planning? You want to go back to those cabins and be outnumbered by a group of people clearly capable of kidnapping? It's a suicide mission. I can't allow it."

"It's not like that, mom," Tyler said quickly. "It could totally work."

There was bile in her throat. "What, Tyler? What could totally work? Running back to danger for someone you don't know?"

"Don't be a hypocrite, ma. We already saved someone once, we can do it again. We would just have to be sneaky, and God knows we're good at that."

"We were lucky, Tyler, lucky and blessed. We were alone. You basically want to serve yourself on a platter to nut jobs." Cate was hissing at her son now, the only tone that kept her from yelling. She cut her eyes at Beth, who was watching their exchange. "And you. What kind of ideas do you wanna throw in the pot?"

The girl was clearly taken aback. "I, I thought that maybe we could hide in the woods, and wait till they came back to the cabins."

"Yeah, and then if her friend is there, we signal for him to meet us over here." Tyler added, happy to have an ally.

Cate moved quickly toward her son, and reached up to put both of her hands on his face. "This girl is pretty, and your age." She was whispering now. "Let me know when you stop thinking with your dick."

Catlike, she moved away from Tyler, and glanced at both him and Beth. "I'm going away to have a moment. Do not go anywhere, do you understand?"

Both nodded. Tyler's face was a mask of shock. His mother had always been up front with him, but she had never scolded him in such a way.

Cate stomped far enough away from them that she could still hear them. She lit a cigarette from a pack in her pocket. She had been a smoker before things had changed, but she had cut down drastically and limited herself to only a few a week. She definitely needed one now.

As she smoked, she wiped away her tears of anger with the other hand. These kids were crazy, and liable to get all of them killed. The woods did provide good cover, this was a fact, but what if this gang swept the woods when they returned? There were so many variables to think about.

She knew she had offered to help initially, even saying that three were better than one. They still were, but now she wondered if a decision to help would be leading three people to a hostage situation or worse.

What could they do? Was her son really thinking with his hormones, or was he just acting on the way he had been raised? She had been harsh with him, and would apologize for her words, but never for her feelings. Her feelings to protect her boy at all costs.

She knew as she crushed the butt viciously under her boot that Tyler would follow his own internal compass, and he was getting to the point where he didn't always look for her consent.

This was such a risky endeavor, but, then again, so was staying alive these days. Was she really turning her thinking around toward the kids' idea? No. She even shook her head as she thought the word.

She was just coming to the realization that her boy was truly a man, and that he was going to do this, no matter how she felt. She was going to do it with him, just because they always did everything together.

God, she hated this. Hated it. Still, she forced her legs to move, and walked back to the kids.

"I'm sorry for what I said, Tyler," She stated, rubbing her hand over her eyes. "That was crude."

"Tell us what your friend looks like, what he's probably wearing." Cate turned to Beth and spoke in a tired tone.

Both teens looked at her with wide eyes, neither spoke. They were waiting for her to explain this change of heart.

"Tyler, you and me are gonna take turns watching the cabins from the woods. Six hours apiece. At the end of the watch, we come back to where we are and the other one goes. We look for her friend. We make eye contact, we signal him back to where we are. He needs coaxing, we simply give her name. If any of the others look like they have an inkling we're watching, we bolt and don't come back, we go straight for Terminus instead."

"What's Terminus?" Beth asked.

"It's a settlement, there's maps everywhere. You guys didn't see them?"

The girl shook her head.

"It's not important right now, anyway. Describe your friend."

"Well, he's got brown hair, blue eyes, he's got a beard, and he carries a crossbow."

"What was he wearing when you last saw him?" Tyler asked, gnawing on a piece of jerky.

"Uhm, jeans. Oh, and he always wears a biker vest with angel wings on the back."

Cate nodded. "Okay, I'm taking first watch." She shouldered her pack, knowing if she didn't do this, and do it now, she'd never be able to carry it through. "You two stay here until I come back" With nothing left to say, she stomped through the woods, sword in hand.

It took two days to make a positive identification. Two days of nerves, two days of wasted supplies. That was how long it took for the group to come back to the cabins. They would have left Beth there, tied up, for that amount of time.

That was one of the only things that reinforced Cate's decision.

Tyler was on watch duty, it was so early in the morning that he could still see his breath suspended in front of him, so he knew when he had stopped.

He froze, and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly out of excitement and anxiety. He was only an hour into his watch, and the way he saw it, he had a good five hours to convince the guy to follow him. The first problem, as he saw it, was that he had only made his identification from the back.

There were seven guys counting the one he was looking for. Five of them made their way to one of the cabins, and Tyler let out the breath he was holding when he realized that they were not heading anywhere near the one he had broken into.

His quarry and another man stayed outside.

Tyler made sure he could have a quiet path, then moved closer to the tree line. He made sure he was as out of sight as he could get, then crouched a moment to wait, to think.

"C'mon, buddy," he whispered, partly a prayer. "You know there's something interesting over here. I'm waiting right here for you. What do I need to do?"

Tyler wracked his brain. He didn't want to take too much time, being as it could be any moment that the rest of the gang discovered their prisoner was gone. That, and frankly, he hated the anticipation.

He thought back to the things he and Beth had talked about during his mother's watch duties, he had dug for information, wanting to know as much as he could about the man he was looking for.

He remembered that Daryl, that was his name, Daryl had a hair trigger, and if he heard something in the woods, he would try to get it, be it walker or food.

That was probably his best bet. Reaching down, he found two small rocks, palmed them, then moved away. He chucked the first, and noticed a slight reaction as both men looked in his general direction. The guy on the left looked away, but Daryl didn't.

Taking a few more steps back, Tyler chucked the next rock. He heard a voice.

"I'ma go check that out, man, I'll be right back."

Tyler turned to go back to the campsite, back to his mom and Beth, to lead the way just like the plan, when he felt a hand on his shoulder turn him around.

He was face-to-face with a crossbow.

"Who the hell are you?"

Tyler swallowed heavily. He had to say this right.

"My mom and I, we have camp over on the other side of the tracks. Beth is with us."

The man squinted at him and his brow furrowed. "How'd you get to be with her?"

"We, we, rescued her from them," he pointed weakly toward the cabins. "You can see her, come on."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Here's chapter four! Thanks for all the follows and favorites. I'm trying to stay true to the characters while still developing my own, so there's a bit of a challenge. I'd appreciate some more reviews!**

Tyler took a deep breath. The seconds were ticking, and he had the feeling that he wasn't getting through to this guy. Stubborn, Beth had been quick to describe him when they had last talked. He had taken a liking to her in the brief time he'd known her; it was nice to have someone his own age around.

He looked into the eyes of the older man, they were still squinted over the sight of his crossbow. They were at a bit of a standoff. "We don't have the time for this," Tyler said quietly and slowly, putting his hands palms forward in front of him. "We have to go back to my camp, at least I do."

He sighed now and thought of the right words to say to convince the other man. He was going to say what he needed to, and then he was going to run back and hope that he wasn't shot in the process.

"You still ain't said nothin I wanted to hear," Daryl rasped, and took a step closer to the teen. "You tell me you got Beth and then you dummy up. What you got to say, boy?"

He finally had it. He took a step or two back, trying to maintain eye contact even as he prepped his body to run.

"You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone, Daryl Dixon," Tyler couldn't help but smile a bit at remembering the line the girl had told him. Hoping it was enough, he turned and ran as fast and quietly as he could, praying he wouldn't get killed from behind.

He could swear he heard footfalls behind him, but didn't focus on it, after all, it could just be wishful thinking. Tyler slowed himself a bit as he came to the tracks, careful not to trip, then picked up speed as he came to the woods on the other side.

He didn't know whether to warn his mom and Beth or not, but as he continued to make his way to where they had set up camp, he realized a warning was unnecessary: He could make out the figures of the two women standing back to back, armed and ready. They had heard him coming.

"Mom," he huffed, his ability to speak impaired by his activity. He made his way to Cate and grabbed her free arm and pulled her along. "C'mon, we gotta go."

"Did you get him?" Beth asked as Cate began to pull the girl along with her.

"Not sure," Tyler replied, never breaking his stride. "He just had me at a standoff for a while."

"I knew this was crazy," Cate huffed in complaint. Suddenly, she began to pull at Tyler as Beth was being pulled away from her. Looking to her left, she noticed a man was pulling the girl away from her grip.

"Hey," she called, worried, not thinking about who this could possibly be. "Who the hell are you?"

"Guess I was the guy you was lookin for," Daryl replied, his expression betraying nothing as Beth looked at him and smiled widely. "Just keep goin."

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The quartet spent most of the day running, taking breaks occasionally to catch their breath and have a drink of water. They didn't speak to each other at all, but they had all somehow came to the mutual agreement that they needed to put as much space between themselves and the gang as possible.

The sun was dipping down in the west when they paused again to breathe and drink. As Cate huffed to catch her breath, bent with her hands on her knees, she spotted a clearing with a house sitting in the middle of it. Without saying a word, she scanned the area, noting a barbed fence enclosing the yard, and what looked like pecan trees scattered throughout.

She reached over and swatted at her son's leg, getting his attention and pointing to what she saw ahead of them. In turn, Tyler snapped his fingers in Beth's direction and pointed it out for her as well. She took the job of alerting her companion.

"Should check it out," Cate said, her voice still impaired from their all day activity. "Might be able to squat here for day or two."

"Can't hurt to look," Beth put in as she noticed the look of doubt on Daryl's face. "We can't run all night."

"Tyler and I are gonna sweep the place." Cate declared, finally catching her breath and standing upright. She wasn't going to wait around forever for someone else to decide what to do. They had rescued the girl and found her friend. If they parted ways after this, so be it. She was going to continue to make what she thought were the best decisions for herself and her son. "You two are welcome to join us."

As mother and son slowly made their way onto the property, Tyler stole a look back at Beth and Daryl. They seemed to be debating their situation without saying much, and what they were saying was in hushed tones.

"What's up with them?" he asked his mother as they walked past a couple of fresh-looking graves.

"I'm not a therapist, Ty. We've done our part. What they wanna do next is entirely up to them."

"Somebody was here recently," he replied, dropping the subject and indicating the graves.

"Hopefully that means the place is clean." Cate hesitantly stepped onto the porch and opened the door, banging the handle of her sword against the door frame before making another move.

After a few moments passed with no response from any walkers, the two worked their way methodically through the house, noting evidence that someone had, in fact, been there recently. The kitchen looked used, there was an unfinished jigsaw puzzle on a table in the living room, and a couple of the beds looked slept in.

There had been children in this group, Tyler surmised, noticing the used crib and the rag doll laying abandoned on the floor.

Cate left her son to his exploration, heading back out the front door. She was mildly surprised to see Beth sitting on the porch. As she passed the girl, she handed her her canteen without a word and made her way down the steps.

She was more surprised to see Daryl walk up to her.

"Thanks," he said, gesturing toward Beth.

"We couldn't have left her the way we found her," Cate paused, wondering if she should share more. She decided to forge ahead. "They had her hog tied on the floor, left her there for a while. They didn't . . . abuse her."

"Yeah, she said that. Grounds are clear."

"Good. Beth said you can hunt. Let my son Tyler help you, we don't want to go through too much of the supplies that we have."

"Can do that myself."

"I know that, but if we're gonna group up here for a while, my son is going to do his share. Us girls are gonna set up the house and get some water, I'll send Tyler out."

She waited for him to nod in reluctant assent.

"Man of few words. I respect that," she turned to walk away, then looked back at him. "By the way, it's nice to meet you, Daryl, I'm Cate."

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Night came uneventfully for the group. Cate and Beth had rigged the walker alarms along the porch, pumped water, and double-checked the integrity of the fence. Tyler cooked the two large rabbits that Daryl had skinned. Dinner had been a quiet affair, they had worked up an appetite after their activity that day.

Cate was surprised when she wasn't tired, and offered to take watch for the night. Tyler and Beth were grateful to be able to go to bed, Tyler in the smaller bedroom with the two twin beds, Beth settled into the full bed in what appeared to be the master bedroom.

Cate was content to remain on the front porch with her gas lamp next to her. She spent the time sharpening her and Tyler's hunting knives, honing the points to deadly precision. When the night air, got too cold, she headed back inside to grab a sweatshirt from her pack.

Holding her lamp in front of her, she made her way to the little master bedroom that she had decided to share with Beth and headed for her pack on the floor. She was terrified when she nearly tripped over something solid.

Gaining her footing, she held her lamp up to see Daryl sitting sprawled on the floor next to the bed where the girl slept, crossbow in his lap. He was awake.

"She's okay now," Cate whispered, assessing the situation quickly. "Go to bed, you're probably beat."

He shook his head defiantly. "She wanted me to stay."

"She's asleep. At least come into the next room, you can hear her if she needs you." Cate eyed the man until he reluctantly began to get up. She headed out ahead of him and settled down at the table in the living room, ignoring the puzzle in front of her.

"She barely slept when she was with us," Cate said when she heard him come into the room after her. "You must have taken care of her for a while."

"Did what I had to, until they took her away. I tried to catch up with the car."

"She told me you two were part of a larger group and got separated from the rest when The Governor attacked."

"You a therapist or somethin?"

Cate laughed quietly. "Not in the least. I'm just a mom. I helped a girl close to my son in age, and I feel for what happened to her, for what's happening to her. The way I see it, this is pretty much the first time Tyler and I were able to do something significant for other people since this whole thing started. I spent a lot of time talking to Beth, to get a feel for her, to learn about you to be able to find you." Now she turned to face him. "Bottom line, it's nice to have others around, and we'd be happy to help you find your group."

"How many walkers have you killed? You and your boy?"

"Can't say. Enough to survive."

"How many people you kill?"

"Two, for the both of us. I killed both. Two separate occasions."

"Why?"

"They had been bitten. They asked, begged."

The reward for her confession was a nod. "Beth said you're headin for a place called Terminus."

"She said you guys hadn't seen the signs. Your group probably has. It's as good a shot as any."

Daryl nodded again and looked toward the bedroom where Beth slept. "Her and your boy are getting along."

"Ty hasn't had anyone his age around in a while, it does him good."

"Might get himself a girlfriend."

"Maybe one day. Too bad Beth is taken."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Wow, this was a tough chapter for me to write. I'm trying to flesh out that these two crazy kids obviously have feelings for each other, and at the same time, I found myself with a LOT of dialogue. Everybody is getting to know each other, and have decided to go together. I plan on tying in with the finale. I hope everyone likes it, please review. Thanks to everyone who follows and favorites.**

Cate sat patiently through the long stretch of silence her statement caused. She looked down at the puzzle in front of her for the first time, running her fingers along the curves and edges.

"Don't know what you're talkin bout," Daryl finally muttered, not moving from his place behind her. "Her boyfriend died on a run."

Cate turned again to look at him. "All due respect, you're making me nervous as hell standing behind me like that. Can you please maybe sit down? You can still see the doorway if you sit across from me."

She was rewarded with heavy footsteps and a long sigh from her companion as he sat opposite her. She was a little surprised he had complied. She rested her head in her hands and studied the puzzle again.

"How long ago was that? That she lost her boyfriend?"

The man shrugged. "Couple a months? Before we left."

"She speaks very highly of you." She took her whetstone out of her pocket and offered it across the table. "Wanna sharpen your knife? I already took care of mine and Tyler's."

Daryl took the stone from her and began to methodically sharpen his hunting knife. "We were out together for a while. She's gonna need a weapon."

Cate shrugged. "She can use my knife. As you can see, I have other stuff."

"Beth's tough. Tougher than I gave her credit for at the start." Now that he had something to do, it was easier to talk to the woman opposite him.

"This whole mess made everyone grow up and get tougher. Some of the things she said to me, I forgot she was nineteen."

"She's still young."

"Age is really just a number, you know. I had Tyler when I was fifteen. My family disowned me, I took care of him all alone."

"Fifteen?"

"Some situations in life make you grow up very quickly. Mine was one, and this is another."

"Not sure what you're getting at."

Cate stood up. "I'm getting to bed, if you don't mind staying up."

Daryl shrugged. "Go ahead."

"I'll let you know if Beth needs you." Now she paused in the doorway. She was going to say what she wanted to before fatigue really hit her. "If her age is the only thing you're worried about, it's time to put that to rest." She looked at him for a few beats before turning and heading to the bedroom.

Daryl shook his head, still engrossed in his task. "Crazy ass woman."

The problem was, that crazy woman wasn't wrong. At some point he had to admit to himself that he did, in fact, have feelings for Beth.

Those days on the road alone with her, he had told her things he had never told anyone else, and at some point her hopeful attitude stopped feeling like nails on a chalkboard and instead like that first touch of warm sunlight.

Then, before he could even begin to truly process the shift that had taken place, the point where she stopped being that kid in the periphery, she had been taken from him, and it felt like something had been ripped from his chest.

He had chased as best he could, with failing energy and an aching hole in him growing ever deeper, and was that when he realized that ache was love? Was that even what it could be called?

He shook his head firmly to clear the notion as it flitted through his mind. No, it wasn't quite love, that was too simple, too romance novel. Yes, he did feel _something _for Beth, and sometimes, especially now that he had her back, he wondered if that something should be explored.

_She's just a kid._ The echoing sentiment, and somehow, Cate, a woman he'd known for about twelve hours, had him figured out, right down to one of the doubts that crept in his mind. Age was chased around with _she's too good for you _and played tag with _you'll lose everyone you care about._

He held out his knife and examined it. Not to mention _she don't feel nothin for your dumb ass. _And, of course, who could forget _Hershel and Maggie'd kill you._

Daryl shrugged to himself. For now, it was time to rest, briefly. Maybe they would go to this Terminus. Maybe everyone else had seen the signs. He'd think about all of that a little later.

For now, he picked up Cate's little lamp and carried it onto the porch. It gave enough light for him to check out his bolts while he waited for someone else to get up and take watch.

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Tyler was the first person to wake, almost at sunrise. He dressed with quick economy, as he was used to situations far more trying than this one. Without a word, he crossed the house and walked out onto the porch. It seemed to be everyone's favorite spot, and he could see why, it had been a long time since a person could literally just sit down outside and not worry for a few moments.

Spotting Daryl crossing the lawn, Tyler came down the steps to meet him, and took the three squirrels he held with a nod.

"You can get some sleep now," he said to the older man, turning to go back to the house and care for the game. "I've got this."

"Probably shouldn't stay here too long," Daryl commented, allowing his stride to match the teen's. "There were other people in our group."

"Yeah, my mom mentioned that. You guys mind us coming along?"

He shook his head. "We're all headin to the same place anyway."

"You know, the signs, for Terminus? They all say the same thing: "Community for all, Sanctuary for all." I just get a little suspicious sometimes. I mean, if I had a safe haven, I don't think I'd be advertising it."

Daryl looked at the teen for a long moment. "Thought about that myself for a minute. But maybe there's enough of em that they can take on more people."

"I didn't want to say anything to my mom. I think she's banking on this place. She'll never admit it, but she's tired. She's really glad that we're with you guys now."

"How long you two been alone like this?"

"Since the beginning. We were at Woodbury for a little while, but we cut and run once the Governor started getting really crazy. He seemed cool at first, but then he got hung up on attacking the prison you were at. He wanted me to be a soldier. A soldier doesn't attack other innocents. That's not who I am."

A grimace crossed Daryl's face at the mention of both Woodbury and the Governor. That man and that place had taken his family away from him in so many different ways. He wasn't going to share his story with the teen, but his opinion of Cate and Tyler went up a few notches because they had been able to see through the bullshit.

Just then, Cate came onto the porch, still stretching. She couldn't remember a time when she had gotten more than a few hours of sleep at a stretch, but it had been nice to sleep in a bed, even if her companion kicked.

She spotted the animals in her son's hands. "Ooohh, breakfast. I'll let you cook for me today, Ty." Now she turned to Daryl. "You should get some rest. We can head out today if you want. Beth is still asleep, I'll wake her when it's time to eat. We'll save you some."

He shrugged. "There's only three. I'll find somethin when I get up." He headed up the steps to go past Cate, then stopped next to her for a moment. "Make sure she eats it all, sometimes she doesn't."

Cate reached out at put a hand on the man's arm. "I got it, try not to worry."

Daryl nodded and headed toward the master bedroom, standing in the doorway. Beth looked peaceful in her sleep for the first time in a long time.

Cocking his head, he listened for Cate and Tyler's chatter in the kitchen before stepping quietly into the room and standing next to the bed. In a somewhat awkward movement, he put his hand out toward her, then stopped and shook his head firmly. He reached down again and lightly touched the stray hairs on Beth's forehead. Her eyes fluttered a bit and he froze again, only to watch her sigh, then turn her head.

Before he could really think about what he was doing, he sat down on the floor again, resting his back against the wall, this time allowing himself to sleep.

Cate woke Beth for breakfast a little later, smiling softly as she told the girl to get out of bed on the opposite side. After she left, Beth groggily came to her senses. This was the longest she'd slept in a long time. As she rolled onto her side, she saw why Cate had given her what seemed like an odd instruction. There was Daryl, fast asleep sitting on the floor next to her.

Her heart swelled and ached at the same time. Beth had thought for a while she would never see him again, but here he was, next to her, with her. His hand was on the bed near her. She took a chance and gently placed hers on top. She smiled when he didn't move.

God, the things she felt for this man. Joy at being with him again. Surprise at her joy. He had been such a gruff, surly person, had treated her like someone on the sidelines for so long. The care she had seen from him before and after she was taken reinforced the little spark growing inside of her.

She had never felt this way for Jimmy or Zack. Beth knew she wasn't in love, not yet, but when she saw his face again yesterday, it was like she'd found a part of herself that had been missing. She cared for him, that was a fact, cared for him so much she didn't want to know what would happen to her if she lost him again.

What was she supposed to do about her feelings? Was she supposed to tell him? What would she say? She would probably sound like a lovesick little kid if she told him how badly she wanted him to hold her tight and never let go. He would think she was crazy if she told him how much she wished she could kiss him.

_He doesn't feel that way about you._ Her doubt. She bit her lip, squeezed his hand, and rolled over to get out of bed for breakfast. She just didn't know what to do. Their lives usually felt like they were on borrowed time. If that was the case, she wanted him to know. But how?

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Later that day, the group was packed and ready to continue their journey. Cate and Tyler were filling all manner of containers that they could find with water. Daryl and Beth stood at the edge of the property, waiting for the other two.

"I should go help them," Beth said, watching mother and son at their task.

"You doin all right?" Daryl asked her, even though he thought she knew the answer. She was wearing a clean shirt, courtesy of Cate, had eaten her fill, and had color in her cheeks.

She nodded. "Thanks for asking," she said, quickly moving and wrapping her arms around him in a hug before she could think twice. She closed her eyes and smiled when, instead of moving away or pushing her aside, he placed his arms around her and returned the gesture.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Here's a bit of a transition chapter. Sorry it took so long to write, but life-and writer's block-get in the way sometimes. Hope you enjoy what I came up with, and hope you're cool with what's going to happen next. Thanks for all the follows and favorites. Reviews would make my day!**

Cate woke with a start, sitting up with a loud gasp. The front of her shirt was soaked with sweat, and as she put her hand to her head, she felt that her hair was wet with it, too.

"You okay?" Beth whispered from her right. Looking over, Cate saw that Daryl was still asleep. Reluctantly, they had let Beth and Tyler take watch while they slept, both of them arguing that they had gotten the most sleep at the house they left the day before.

"Yeah," Cate answered through a sigh. "Just a bad dream. Where's Tyler?"

"Checking the snares," she replied, looking over in the direction he had headed in. "Thinks he's gonna get a couple of rabbits."

"The eternal optimist," Cate said, resting her head in her hands and taking a few deep breaths to get her bearings back. "These woods are picked pretty clean."

"You think we're getting close?" The whole group had seen the Terminus signs now, and had been walking along the tracks, following the directions.

"Maybe another day's walk. We did really well yesterday."

Tyler approached with a disappointed look on his face and one scrawny rabbit in his hand. "This is all I got," he said, sitting down at his mother's left and taking out his hunting knife. "Gonna be hard to go four ways."

"You two eat it," Cate said, reaching for her pack and unzipping it, checking the contents. "Fruit cocktail is a perfectly acceptable breakfast."

"Got any more of that?" Daryl asked groggily, sitting up and running a hand over his face.

Cate looked in her bag again. "Yup," she replied, picking up the other can. "Think fast." She tossed it over and smiled when the man caught it.

For four people who had been together a total of two days on the outside, they fell into a companionable rhythm easily. Tyler set about skinning and gutting the rabbit, and had it on a homemade spit in no time. He and Beth fell into an easy conversation about the pros and cons of cooking within a fire pit.

Cate and Daryl ate their breakfasts, then Cate wrapped up her sleeping bag, and dug into her pack again for a few essentials: water bottle, washcloth, tee shirt and some feminine supplies.

She then waited for Beth to finish her breakfast. She had initiated the buddy system as far as hygiene and toileting measures went, knowing that it was easier for Beth to have a partner than begin an argument, or worse, have Daryl follow her when she went to the bathroom.

"C'mon, chica," she announced when Beth was done. "Let's get cleaned up for the day."

As soon as the pair were a few feet from their campsite, Beth turned to Cate, her eyes large in her face. "Can I ask you something?" she still maintained her whisper.

"Sure," Cate replied. "You need a tampon?"

She shook her head. "I don't know what to do about Daryl."

"Well, that's not really a question," Cate replied, turning her back as she removed her old, sweat-soaked shirt and began to wash herself quickly. "Do about him in regards to what?"

"Umm, well." Beth hesitated now, she didn't know how to be direct with Cate, and she knew that was the best way to get things done. "See, I think I like him."

"I like him too, sweetie. He's a hell of a guy, even though he doesn't see it himself."

"You do?" Now she'd never stand a chance. She'd waited too long, she was too young, Cate seemed so smart and confident. There was no way Daryl would ever see her as an equal, as a woman, if Cate was competing for his affections, too.

"Yeah," Cate replied, turning to look at the younger woman after she put her new shirt on. "I hope to be able to call him a friend one day."

Beth exhaled a huge breath she didn't know she was holding.

Cate smiled gently at her. "I know what you're getting at, sweetie, I was just funning with you a little."

"Well, do you think he likes me, too?"

Cate nodded. "Now, if your next question is about as to how to proceed, I have no idea. Don't throw yourself at him, he doesn't seem that type. Just go with what feels natural."

"That's kinda the problem. See, I don't know what would be natural. Part of me wants to just wants to get in his arms and never let go. But you're right, he would probably push me away and call me crazy."

"Okay, what does the other part of you want?"

Beth sighed in frustration. "I have no idea. I don't want to totally lose him, even if he doesn't want to be with me. I figured you would know about guys."

Cate put her hands on Beth's shoulders. "Honey, I've been so busy raising my boy and getting myself together, I usually feel like the only guy I do know is Tyler. I mean, I've dated, and obviously I've gotten pretty serious at least once in my life, but every person is different. Every pairing is different. Hell, the whole relationship arena is different now that this whole mess went down." She paused to smile gently at her companion. "You wouldn't even be in this predicament if it weren't for this whole apocalypse nonsense, would you?"

Beth bit her lip and nodded. "I woulda been going to college by now, I never woulda met any of these people, not him, not even you." She looked up at Cate. "My mama and daddy would still be here. God, my life would be so different."

Cate gathered her in for a hug. "Let it out, honey, just let it out."

Beth hugged back and allowed herself to cry for a moment. Everything that had happened since the Governor came to the prison came out: Losing her daddy, not knowing where Maggie or Judith or any of the others were, not having a place to call home, running, getting kidnapped, being saved.

Cate just held on and let her do what she needed to do. "It's okay," she said, soothingly. "Every girl needs a good cry now and then. I got you, and God's got this, you understand?"

"You still believe?"

"Of course, don't you?"

"I don't know anymore, I really don't."

Cate pulled away to look her in the eye. "He gave you Daryl to protect you, and love you, and he gave you Tyler and I to get you back to him. No doubts, okay?"

Beth nodded and wiped her tears from her face.

"You finish cleaning up, the boys are gonna get anxious if we're gone too long."

"Thanks," she tried a smile and began to get herself together.

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Before long, they were back on the road, walking two by two along the tracks. Tyler and Beth were ahead, chatting about different food they missed. Cate pulled a cigarette from her pack, then offered the pack to Daryl.

He looked down at the pack for a moment.

"Taking one doesn't make us BFFs or anything," Cate said with a smile. "I'm just sharing like a good girl."

Shrugging, Daryl took one and accepted a light from her. "Thanks," he said, blowing out the smoke. "We're getting awful close."

"Yeah. I wonder what the place is gonna be like?"

"Hopefully the rest of our group will be there."

She nodded. "That'd be nice for you two."

"They're your group now, too. They'll wanna thank you for what you did."

Cate allowed herself a small smile.

"Hey, mom," Tyler called back. "Remember that tortellini soup you used to make? What'd you put in it?"

"Just garlic, butter and pasta," she replied. "It was a good dinner on a cool night, wasn't it?" She caught up the few steps to Tyler and Beth.

"I miss waffles," Beth said dreamily. "Big belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream on em."

"I miss Arby's," Tyler put in. "The cherry turnovers, and those milkshakes."

"Apple pie with ice cream on top," Beth countered.

"You guys are just saying that because you've never been to Caprisi's." Cate smiled as she remembered something good from her childhood. "That was dessert. The biggest sundaes you could imagine, it took two or three people to finish, and they all still had stomachaches afterward. Any toppings you could dream of-"

"Shh!" Daryl called suddenly from behind, and all three of them froze, holding their weapons at the ready and watching him. "I hear somethin," he said by way of explanation and turned toward the woods to listen.

Cate, Beth and Tyler all swallowed their protests as he made his way into the woods a bit. They waited, still at the ready for what seemed like forever until he emerged again and they all would swear later they saw a rare smile cross his face.

"C'mon, I found somethin good." He reached over and took Beth's hand, gesturing for Cate and Tyler to follow.

As they approached, Cate noticed a man, a woman, and a young teen. The man was instructing the teen how to trap rabbits in a snare. The three looked up when they heard the foursome come up.

"Daryl? Beth?" The man said in disbelief, a smile crossing his tired features. "Who're your friends?"

"That's Cate and her boy, Tyler. They helped us out when we needed it."

"I'm Rick," the man said warmly, extending his hand to the pair. At the same time, he gestured to his companions. "That's Michonne, and that's my boy, Carl. You all see the signs, too?"

"Been following them for a while now," Cate replied. "Showed them to your friends, they hadn't seen 'em." She looked at the people in front of her. They looked weary, they had probably been on the road a while in just the clothes they were standing in. She saw the small rabbit in Rick's hand. "You guys must be hungry."

"Rations are getting a little low," Rick said by way of explanation.

Cate began to take her pack off her shoulders. "Tyler, let Carl, is it?" She looked at the boy, who gave her a slight nod. "Let Carl have whatever he wants out of your pack. I'll share with Rick and Michonne."

Tyler made his way over to the younger teen and handed him his bag, trying to engage conversation. Cate sat down on the ground and opened her own bag, passing it to Michonne. "Ladies first," she said, attempting a smile at the other woman.

"Been a while since I've seen canned ravioli," Michonne said thoughtfully, turning a can in her hands.

"Start a fire if you're gonna eat that," Tyler put in over his shoulder. "It tastes like ass cold."

This earned a small smile and a nod from Michonne as she kept the can in her hand and passed Cate's bag over to Rick.

"There's a lot in here," Rick commented, digging around in the pack.

"These two're pretty good to keep around," Daryl put in. "Real resourceful."

Cate shielded her eyes from the sun to look up in his direction. The smile she was about to give became bigger when she saw that he and Beth were still holding hands.


	7. Chapter 7

The group that set off to Terminus after Rick, Michonne and Carl had eaten was one that was in higher spirits. Part of it was due to the addition of supplies, part of it was because their group had grown, but most of it was because of the reunion of some of the prison family members.

The pace had become slightly more leisurely, with all seven people moving amongst one another, answering questions, swapping stories, discussing the fates of those that weren't with them.

Daryl, Beth and Cate all took turns telling Rick and Michonne what had happened to them in the time since the prison fell. Cate told the story of herself and her son, then all three again picked up the narrative of how Beth was rescued from her kidnappers.

"The men that took you, Beth," Rick said, after quietly digesting everything he'd been told. "Sound a lot like the group of fellas that took over this house we were holed up in."

"They're animals," Daryl put in, spitting on the ground at the mention of them. He had only spent a couple of days with them, but that was more than enough for a lifetime. "Grabbed up whatever they wanted, long as you said "claimed" it was yours."

Rick nodded. "Yeah, they were saying something like that in the house." He looked closely at Beth. "They didn't do anything else to you besides tie you up?"

Beth's eyes got dark at the thought. "Talked some, but, yeah, that was about it. Cate and Tyler got to me before, well, before."

"We all owe you a debt of gratitude, Cate," Rick said. "You and your boy."

"You're paid off," Cate replied simply, pulling her jacket a little closer around her, the memory of the young woman tied up on the floor flashing in her mind. It, along with the conversation about the gang, had soured her mood.

She drifted a little away from the group, wanting to be alone, not wanting to be owed anything, not wanting to think about the events of a few days before, not wanting to think that that group might still be out there and may not be so forgiving of having what they "claimed" taken from them.

"She doesn't seem to like anybody owin her anything," Beth said, watching the older woman walk away. "She says she just did what people should be doin for each other."

"Smart lady," Michonne commented, falling back into step with Carl, who was trying to get her attention.

Daryl, Beth and Rick continued to talk to each other about the road ahead and what they expected to find at Terminus. Rick kept one eye on Cate and another on how Daryl and Beth would occasionally squeeze each others' hand.

There was an awkwardness to their touches, like they were both much younger, in the first stages of some kind of high school relationship. He supposed, in a way, that was the case.

In the years he had known Daryl, he had never seen him cultivate any kind of romantic relationship. The few times he had become close to someone female, he had done something to attempt to push her away, he'd seen it with Carol.

Rick shook his head slightly to himself. There were some people who were going to disagree with whatever this was, but he was not one of them. He also wasn't going to give them a hard time. Instead, he just kept walking. They had to find a place to settle before sundown.

**SFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSF**

"I've slept in worse," Tyler commented to Carl later that night, turning his head to the right to look at the younger teen.

"Me, too," Carl agreed, reclining the passenger seat of the abandoned truck all the way back. "I've been colder, too."

"Kinda wish you'd taken the driver's seat, though, the steering column's a pain."

"You were the one who wanted to be nice. I wasn't gonna argue." Carl adjusted his well-worn hat so that it covered his eyes. "Maybe the wheel tilts up."

Tyler fiddled with the column for a moment, successfully lifting the wheel. "Yeah, remind me to break that nice guy habit. It's not getting me anywhere."

Carl snorted, half a laugh. "No problem." For a few beats, it was quiet in the truck, save for the two teens shifting themselves to get comfortable. "What do you think they're talking about out there?"

"I have so many answers to that," Tyler replied, putting his hands behind his head and leaning further back. "Knowing my mom, she's trying to feed everybody first."

"I'm not complaining."

Tyler was right in his assumption that Cate had made a huge dent in both of their packs by feeding the entire group and not taking no for an answer. They would be at their destination tomorrow, maybe even by the morning, and she was hoping their packs would be a thing of the past.

"I wonder if this place is legit," Michonne said in a thoughtful tone as Rick stomped out their fire. "Signs up everywhere, makes me wonder."

"They've gotta be strong," Rick replied. "Have some sense of order, like we did back at the prison."

"The Governor had order." Michonne countered, and Cate and Daryl nodded in agreement.

"I just hope-ohmiGod!" Beth cried suddenly, finding herself being pulled to her feet. Before anyone else could react, everyone in their circle had a gun to their head. Chancing a look at the truck, Cate noticed three men surrounding it, two pulling Tyler and Carl out of the truck. The boys were stumbling a bit, having both been woken up.

"We hit the lottery tonight, boys!" The yell came from the man who had a gun to Rick's head. "We found the bastard that killed Lou! Here he is with all of his little friends." The man took a moment to survey the group. Rick, Daryl, Michonne and Cate remained sitting while Beth, Carl and Tyler struggled against their captors.

"And looka that, Len," he gestured now to the man who had Beth's arm twisted behind her back. "You got your girl back."

Len laughed and tightened his grip on Beth's arm, pulling her closer to him. That was enough for Daryl, who jumped to his feet, paying no heed to the man who was trying to hold him at gunpoint. "Don't you touch her! You let her go now!"

Fourteen people, eight of them part of the marauding gang, six of them survivors looking for a new home, all froze and looked in Daryl's direction.

The man leveled his gaze at Daryl. "You. Daryl, isn't it? You pretended to join up with us, then disappeared along with the girl. You took her, didn't you?"

Daryl stared at him, now struggling against the man who was holding him upright. He wasn't going to dignify him with an answer.

"You did, you stole from us, you stole Len's girl. Must have thought she was yours. That was your mistake, boy. Now who helped you?" He surveyed the group again.

"Betcha it was this strappin fella over here, Joe," Tyler's captor called. "He looks like the hero type, don't he?"

Joe laughed heartily. "Yeah, he does look the type." He called over to Tyler. "You a thief too, boy?"

Tyler held his head upright, following Daryl's lead and not answering.

Joe signaled to Daryl's captor and the extra man standing by the truck. "Teach Daryl what we do to thieves, fellas. Teach him all the way!"

The group watched in horror as the two men took Daryl over to the side of the truck and began to beat him, looking like they were enjoying it.

"Your problem is with me," Rick said quietly. "I killed your man. Leave the rest of them alone."

"An honest man!" Joe exclaimed, seemingly amused. "I'll have my moment with you, but first, the big boy over there, the one who's probably a thief? He's gonna go. Then we'll have the women, and the little boy, then we'll finish you off and take Len's girlfriend with us. What do you think of that?"

The silence that followed was punctuated by the grunts of Daryl and the men who were beating him, and the whimpers and cries of Carl, who was being wrestled to the ground and threatened at knife point by his captor. Michonne kept meeting Cate's eyes, trying to communicate. Was there a way out?

Suddenly, Rick reared his head back and smashed it into Joe's face, connecting with his nose with a sickening crunch.

"Oh, now things are gonna be much worse for you!" Joe yelled, dabbing at the blood running from his nose before punching Rick. Rick reacted for a moment, then allowed Joe to pull him up to his level. "Watcha gonna do now, sport?" He taunted as Rick looked at him with tired eyes.

In a split second, Rick reared his head back and bit down onto Joe's neck, pulling back as the arterial blood spray began.

Taking advantage of the gang's shock, Michonne, Beth, Cate and Tyler all reacted, turning against their captors and shooting them with their own guns. Michonne then shot one of the men beating Daryl, allowing him to finish off the other himself.

Carl's captor let him go, realizing that he was next. Rick strode over to him slowly, face covered in Joe's blood. "He's mine," Rick declared in a growl, advancing toward the man that was going to violate and harm his son, grabbing his knife.

Michonne took Carl into his arms, Daryl did the same with Beth and Cate did the same with Tyler. Daryl used the pretense of checking Beth for injuries, and Michonne did her best to shield Carl's view as his father started stabbing and didn't stop.

Later, the bodies had been cleared. Rick sat outside of the truck on one side, Daryl approaching him, urging him to clean his face.

Michonne sat in the truck with Carl's head in her lap.

Cate sat on the ground on the other side of the truck in between Beth and Tyler.

She knew in that moment that they were truly a part of the group. She also knew that if the tables had been turned, she would have done the same, if not worse, for her son.

She understood the darkness that had overtaken Rick because some days, she felt it, too. She was just fortunate she had not yet had to act on it.

For now, they would sit and wait and rest, and she would be thankful. Later, they would continue their journey.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for making it to the end of this chapter! This was a tough one to write as I had to reconfigure the entire confrontation with the marauders, switch up the dialogue, and increase their numbers so that they could overtake a bigger group. I hope I did okay!**


End file.
